Charles
Sherwood Stratton (1838-1883), better know to the world as General Tom
Thumb, was a dwarf, an entertainer, and one of the most famous Americans
of the 19th century. His success in the United States transformed the
traditional exhibition of lusus naturae, or human wonders, into a
flourishing commercial industry. This presentation explores what made
the diminutive General such a sensation and traces his fascinating
career from the boards of Barnum’s American Museum through his
celebrated tour around the world.

Matthew Wittmann is a Curatorial Fellow at the Bard Graduate Center, the author of Circus and the City: New York, 1793-2010 (BGC, 2012) and co-editor of The American Circus
(Yale, 2012). He is a graduate of the Program in American Culture at
the University of Michigan and is working on projects that range from
popular entertainment to Pacific history. He blogs about these assorted
interests at www.matthewwittmann.com.____________________________________________________

The
natural world has long captivated human kind, and taxidermy has played a
large role in our understanding and study of animals; the painstaking
creation of life-like mounts take much attention and research, and
requires and builds a deep appreciation of nature.

In this class, Divya Anantharaman--who learned her craft under the tutelage of famed Observatory instructor Sue Jeiven--will
lead students in an investigation into the humble mouse. Students will
create a fully finished classic mount of a mouse, on a base and in the
natural setting of their choice. Students will learn everything involved
in producing a finished mount, from initial preparation, hygiene and
sanitary measures, fleshing, tail stripping, and dry preservation. The
use of anatomical study, reference photos, and detailed observation will
also be reviewed as important tools in recreating the nuanced poses and
expressions that magically reanimate a specimen. Students are welcome
to bring their own bases and accessories if something specific is
desired. All other supplies will be provided for use in class.

Each student will leave class with a fully finished piece, and the knowledge to create their own pieces in the future.

Divya Anantharaman
is a Brooklyn based artist whose taxidermy practice was sparked by a
lifelong fascination with natural mythology and everyday oddities. After
a journey filled with trial and error, numerous books, and an inspiring
class (Sue Jeiven's popular Anthropomorphic Mouse Taxidermy Class at
Observatory!), she has found her calling in creating sickly sweet and
sparkly critters. Beginning with mice and sparrows, her menagerie grew
to include domestic cats, woodchucks, and deer. Recently profiled on
Vice Fringes, the New York Observer, and other publications, she will
also be appearing in the upcoming season of Oddities-and is definitely
up to no good shenanigans. You can find out more at www.d-i-v-y-a.com
Also, some technical notes:

We use NO harsh or dangerous chemicals.

Everyone will be provided with gloves.

All animals are disease free.

Although there will not be a lot of blood or gore, a strong constitution is necessary; taxidermy is not for everyone

Hair
jewelry was an enormously popular form of commemorative art that began
in the late 17th century and reached its zenith during the Victorian
Era. Hair, either of someone living or deceased, was encased in metal
lockets or woven to enshrine the human relic of a loved one. This class
will explore a modern take on the genre.

The technique of "palette
working" or arranging hair in artful swoops and curls will be explored
and a variety of ribbons, beads, wire and imagery of mourning
iconography will be supplied for potential inclusion. A living or
deceased person or pet may be commemorated in this manner.

Students
are requested to bring with them to class their own hair, fur, or
feathers; all other necessary materials will be supplied. Hair can be
self-cut, sourced from barber shops or hair salons (who are usually
happy to provide you with swept up hair), from beauty supply shops (hair
is sold as extensions), or from wig suppliers. Students will leave
class with their own piece of hair jewelry and the knowledge to create
future projects.

Karen Bachmann is
a fine jeweler with over 25 years experience, including several years
on staff as a master jeweler at Tiffany and Co. She is a Professor in
the Jewelry Design Dept at Fashion Institute of Technology as well as
the School of Art and Design at Pratt Institute. She has recently
completed her MA in Art History at SUNY Purchase with a thesis entitled
Hairy Secrets:... In her downtime she enjoys collecting biological
specimens, amateur taxidermy and punk rock.

____________________________________________________

Bartitsu-The Victorian Self Defense System: A lecture and Demonstration by The Bartitsu Club of New York and Ghoul A Go Go’s Vlad Tsepis
Date: Sunday April 7th
Time: 8.00
Admission: $10
Presented by Morbid Anatomy and the Bartitsu Club Of New York

Bartitsu
was a Victorian system of self defense. Taught in the late 1890s, it is
regarded by some as the first mixed martial arts system. Originally
learned by gentlemen, and gentle women, as a way to fend off footpads
and other thugs of the day, Bartitsu is now seeing a revival.

The Bartitsu Club of New York is gearing up for a Spring seminar and invites you to Observatory for a preview. Introduced by Vlad Tsepis of Ghoul A Go-Go,
the Bartitsu Club will present a basic introduction to Bartitsu and its
founder, as well as the historical background of self defense in
Victorian England. Some techniques will be demonstrated as a prelude to
what you can learn more in depth. You will leave knowing "an excellent
method of forcing an undesirable person out of your room."

This
course will introduce students to basic and fundamental taxidermy
techniques and procedures. Students will be working with donated raccoon
skins and will be going through the steps to do a head mount. The class
is only available to 5 students, allowing for more one on one
interaction and assistance. Students will be working with tanned and
lightly prepped skin; there will be no skinning of the animals in class.
This is a great opportunity to learn the basic steps to small and large
mammal taxidermy. All materials will be supplied by the instructor, and
you will leave class with your own raccoon head mount.

Rogue taxidermist Katie Innamorato
has a BFA in sculpture from SUNY New Paltz, has been featured on the
hit TV show "Oddities," and has had her work featured at La Luz de Jesus
gallery in Los Angeles, California. She is self and professionally
taught, and has won multiple first place ribbons and awards at the
Garden State Taxidermy Association Competition. Her work is focussed on
displaying the cyclical connection between life and death and growth and
decomposition. Katie is a member of the Minnesota Association of Rogue
Taxidermists, and with all M.A.R.T. members she adheres to strict
ethical guidelines when acquiring specimens and uses roadkill, scrap,
and donated skins to create mounts.
Her website and blogs-www.afterlifeanatomy.comwww.afterlifeanatomy.tumblr.comwww.facebook.com/afterlifeanatomywww.etsy.com/shop/afterlifeanatomy

____________________________________________________

Bat in Glass Dome Workshop
Part of DIY Wunderkammer Series: With Wilder Duncan (formerly of
Evolution Shop, Soho) and Laetitia Barbier, head librarian at The Morbid
Anatomy Library

In
this class, students will learn how to create an osteological
preparation of a bat in the fashion of 19th century zoological displays.
A bat skeleton, a glass dome, branches, glue, tools, and all necessary
materials will be provided for each student, but one should feel welcome
to bring small feathers, stones, dried flowers, dead insects, natural
elements, or any other materials s/he might wish to include in his/her
composition. Students will leave the class with a visually striking,
fully articulated, “lifelike” bat skeleton posed in a 10” tall glass
dome. This piece can, in conjunction with the other creations in the DIY
Wunderkammer workshop series, act as the beginning of a genuine
collection of curiosities!

This class is part of the DIY Wunderkammer workshop series, curated by Laetitia Barbier and Wilder Duncan
for Morbid Anatomy as a creative and pluridisciplinary exploration of
the Curiosity Cabinet. The classes will focus on teaching ancient
methods of specimen preparation that link science with art: students
will create compositions involving natural elements and, according to
their taste, will compose a traditional Victorian environment or a
modern display. More on the series can be found here.

Wilder Duncan
is an artist whose work puts a modern-day spin on the genre of Vanitas
still life. Although formally trained as a realist painter at Wesleyan
University, he has had a lifelong passion for, and interest in, natural
history. Self-taught rogue taxidermist and professional specimen
preparator, Wilder worked for several years at The Evolution Store
creating, repairing, and restoring objects of natural historical
interest such as taxidermy, fossils, seashells, minerals, insects,
tribal sculptures, and articulated skeletons both animal and human.
Wilder continues to do work for private collectors, giving a new life to
old mounts, and new smiles to toothless skulls.

A Fate Worse Than Death: The Perils of Being a Famous Corpse with Bess Lovejoy, Author of Rest in PiecesWith Bess Lovejoy, author of Rest in Pieces
Date: Friday, April 26th
Time: 8pm
Admission: $10
Presented by Morbid Anatomy & Phantasmaphile

Most
of us know what our afterlives are going to be like: eternity in the
ground, or resting in an urn on some relative’s mantelpiece. If we’re
lucky, our children might occasionally bring us flowers or a potted
plant, and that’s about as interesting as things are going to get.

Not
so the famous deceased. For millennia, they’ve been bought and sold,
worshipped and reviled, studied, collected, stolen, and dissected.
They’ve been the star attractions at museums and churches, and used to
found cemeteries, cities, even empires. Pieces of them have languished
in libraries and universities, in coolers inside closets, and in
suitcases underneath beds. For them, eternity has been anything but
easy.

The more notable or notorious the body, the more likely it
is that someone’s tried to disturb it. Consider the near-snatching of
Abraham Lincoln, or the attempt on Elvis’s tomb. Then there’s Descartes,
who is missing his head, and Galileo, who is spending eternity without
his middle finger. Napoleon’s missing something a bit lower, as is the
Russian mystic Rasputin, at least if the rumors are true. Meanwhile,
Jesse James has had three graves, and may not have been in any of them,
while it took a court case and an exhumation to prove that Lee Harvey
Oswald was in his.
In this illustrated lecture, Bess Lovejoy will draw on her new book, Rest in Pieces,
to discuss the many threats faced by famous corpses--from furta sacra
("holy theft" of saintly relics), to skull-stealing phrenologists,
"Resurrection Men" digging up cadavers for medical schools, modern organ
harvesters, the depredations of crazed fans, and much more.

Rest in Pieces will also be available for sale, and wine will be served in celebration of its release.Bess Lovejoy
is a writer, researcher, and editor based in Seattle. She writes about
dead people, forgotten history, and sometimes art, literature, and
science. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times, The Believer, The Boston Globe, The Stranger, and other publications. She worked on the Schott’s Almanac series for five years. Visit her at BessLovejoy.com.____________________________________________________

Hair
jewelry was an enormously popular form of commemorative art that began
in the late 17th century and reached its zenith during the Victorian
Era. Hair, either of someone living or deceased, was encased in metal
lockets or woven to enshrine the human relic of a loved one. This class
will explore a modern take on the genre.

The technique of "palette
working" or arranging hair in artful swoops and curls will be explored
and a variety of ribbons, beads, wire and imagery of mourning
iconography will be supplied for potential inclusion. A living or
deceased person or pet may be commemorated in this manner.

Students
are requested to bring with them to class their own hair, fur, or
feathers; all other necessary materials will be supplied. Hair can be
self-cut, sourced from barber shops or hair salons (who are usually
happy to provide you with swept up hair), from beauty supply shops (hair
is sold as extensions), or from wig suppliers. Students will leave
class with their own piece of hair jewelry and the knowledge to create
future projects.Karen Bachmann is
a fine jeweler with over 25 years experience, including several years
on staff as a master jeweler at Tiffany and Co. She is a Professor in
the Jewelry Design Dept at Fashion Institute of Technology as well as
the School of Art and Design at Pratt Institute. She has recently
completed her MA in Art History at SUNY Purchase with a thesis entitled
Hairy Secrets:... In her downtime she enjoys collecting biological
specimens, amateur taxidermy and punk rock. ____________________________________________________